"Arbeit macht frei" sign stolen form Auschwitz gate

[Ed Anger]

I miss the old Burger Chef. 

[jimmy olsen]

The sign has been recovered.

It's been cut into three pieces.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34503643/ns/world_news-europe/

[Mr.Penguin]

My guess is that they stole it in order to claim a ransom, most likely becourse the German government just have offered a large sum of money to the restoration of the camp...

[Valmy]

The sign has been recovered.

It's been cut into three pieces.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34503643/ns/world_news-europe/

Get the original put it in a museum and make a replica and put it back in Auschwitz.  Easy peasy.

[Caliga]

My guess is that they stole it in order to claim a ransom, most likely becourse the German government just have offered a large sum of money to the restoration of the camp...

"...on ze condition dat ze gas chambers vill be... fully operational." 

[DGuller]

My guess is that they stole it in order to claim a ransom, most likely becourse the German government just have offered a large sum of money to the restoration of the camp...

What are they planning to do?  Put in energy-efficient ovens?

[Mr.Penguin]

My guess is that they stole it in order to claim a ransom, most likely becourse the German government just have offered a large sum of money to the restoration of the camp...

What are they planning to do?  Put in energy-efficient ovens?

Maybe restoration should be renovation, you know english is hard...

[Martinus]

My guess is that they stole it in order to claim a ransom, most likely becourse the German government just have offered a large sum of money to the restoration of the camp...

"...on ze condition dat ze gas chambers vill be... fully operational." 

I remember when on the WW2 anniversary celebration this year, there were two headlines on the first page of a Polish (liberal and very pro-Israel/Jewish, so I think it was just a very bad coincidence) newspaper: "Germans reluctant to give Poles the Auschwitz plans" and "Putin says 'no' to the gas supply deal with Poland".

[Martinus]

My guess is that they stole it in order to claim a ransom, most likely becourse the German government just have offered a large sum of money to the restoration of the camp...

What are they planning to do?  Put in energy-efficient ovens?

We need to reduce the CO2 emissions.

[Martinus]

It seems the "collector" who commissioned the theft is a Swede.

I can already think of several suspects.

[BVN]

It seems the "collector" who commissioned the theft is a Swede.

I can already think of several suspects.

[Sahib]

The theft was apparently ordered by someone from Sweden.
Slargos 

[DGuller]

Why would Swedes need the sign?  Are they running out of raw materials for ball bearings?

[sbr]

Why would Swedes need the sign?  Are they running out of raw materials for ball bearings?

To fund Neo-Nazi terrorist acts.

No really.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6967449.ece

The Nazi gang that ordered the theft of the infamous 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign from the gates of Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland planned to sell it to fund violent attacks against the Swedish Prime Minister and Parliament, it was claimed today.

A spokesman for the Swedish security police confirmed that the authorities were taking seriously a threat by a militant Nazi group to disrupt national elections next year.

"We are aware of the information about the alleged attack plans," said Patrik Peter, the security police spokesman.

"We have taken actions. We view this seriously."

The wrought-iron sign, whose inscription – translated as 'Work sets you free' – was viewed by hundreds of thousands of Jews as they entered the Nazi death camp where they met their deaths during the Second World War. It was stolen from the camp – now a museum – last Friday, provoking worldwide expressions of dismay and revulsion.

It was recovered on Monday, hacked into three pieces and wrapped in cloth. Police suspect that it was initially hidden in woodland before being transferred to a builder's yard where it was found.

Allegations concerning who ordered the theft, and why, have surfaced today in Swedish newspaper reports after the former leader of a Swedish Nazi group claimed that it had been stolen to order for a collector in England, France or the United States.

"We had a person who was ready to pay millions for the sign," the unnamed source told Aftonbladet, Sweden's biggest-selling daily newspaper.

The Nazi source said that the money would pay for an attack on the home of Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish Prime Minister who has held the rotating presidency of the European Union for the last six months, and on the Swedish Foreign Ministry, the paper reported.

A third attack allegedly involved plans to bombard Swedish MPs from the public seats of the parliament.

"The sign was to be delivered to Sweden, since it was here the deal should be made," the source said. "My role was to find a buyer. We had a person who was willing to pay millions but he had no political agenda. These things have a huge collector value... The biggest collectors are from England, the United States and France."

The source allegedly said that five men were to be paid for carrying out the theft. He reportedly insisted that he personally was not guilty of any crime as the deal had not been completed. Aftonbladet reported that he had been convicted several times in connection with his Nazi affiliation, and that he had made repeated visits to Poland.

Polish television has reported that police were investigation a Swedish connection in the theft of the Auschwitz sign. Mr Peter said that no arrests had yet been made.

"A prosecutor has been informed and the Government offices have been informed," said Mr Peter. He declined to discuss any details of the attack plans.

Five men, aged between 20 and 39, from the Torun area of northern Poland, have been arrested for the theft of the sign. The decisive tip-off came in one of 120 calls to a police hotline over the weekend. The museum had offered a £23,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the sign. The caller gave enough information for all five suspects to be rounded up within three hours.

Andrzej Rokita, the deputy commander of Cracow police, described them as non-political. All had previous convictions for theft or assault.

They are being interrogated in Cracow, the city responsible for the nearby Auschwitz camp museum. If charges are pressed, they could face up to ten years in jail for the "theft of a cultural treasure of particular significance".

Museum authorities are urging the police to release the three portions of the sign so that they can be re-erected before the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp next month. In the meantime, a replica has been placed over the entrance.

[Razgovory]

Well it's nice that Hortlund's political career is taking off.